These research projects will help students find answers to the Why’s and How’s as they practice research skills like summarizing, reading for detail, and more! Kids are naturally curious and are often curious about the same thing, like “What makes the moon shine?” or “How do planes fly?” These activities are great way to engage your students as they meet the Common Core standards for Researching to Build and Present Knowledge!

Each Curiosity Card has a common question that many kids are curious about. In order to find the answer to the question, your students have fun doing some research!

Here’s how to implement Curiosity Cards in your classroom:

1. Before sending your students to the computer or media center, discuss appropriate resources and references to use (and how to cite them), making sure they are school-safe. Some may include school approved research sites and search engines, encyclopedias, library books, etc. It is also necessary to teach and/or review skills needed for effective research including using reference tools, reading for detail, summarizing, etc.

*Included is a form for students to keep up with the questions they've researched.

2. Students choose a card (laminate these for durability), read the question, and get ready to research!

3. They use the research form provided to write their thoughts on the topic before researching. Then, they read to learn more about the topic, recording what they learn on the research page. It's important to also require the students to not only explain the answer to the question, but find out as much as they can about the topic. They also draw a picture related to the topic and write an interesting fact they learned while reading. (An optional back page is also included that will require a bit more extensive research related to the topic.)

4. Once they find the answer to a question, it’s important for them to not be a “Curiosity Crusher” by revealing the answer to questions others have not had a chance to research. A suggestion is to assign a research partner so students will have someone to be excited with once they find an answer to their question. They might also write a letter to a parent or the teacher sharing what they've learned.

This research activity is great for a research center, writing center, reading center, early finisher’s activity, etc.

Got It? Jot It! Sets 1 and 2:

This set of 40 organizers will assist students as they practice note taking and research skills. These eye catching and student-centered forms can be used over and over with a wide variety of topics. They also help support critical thinking and effective note taking, help students organize information, and provide options for students to choose different ways to gather information.